


Enough to make me smile

by Estirose



Category: Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Power Rangers in Space
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25212049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose
Summary: When Karone comes to, Maya is there. She's starting to appreciate that.
Relationships: Astronema | Karone/Maya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9
Collections: Little Black Dress Exchange 2020





	Enough to make me smile

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jen425](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen425/gifts).



Karone came to consciousness in medical. Or whatever the people of Terra Venture called it. Medical was a place one avoided, in her old life. Even if she was the princess, even if she'd gotten sick, she'd avoided it like the plague. 

She vaguely remembered being injured in the last battle; caught by surprise before she could morph, she'd been slammed into a wall, and then, still off-balance, had been thrashed mercilessly by the newest monster. She remembered losing consciousness, vaguely. It hadn't felt at the time like any bones had been broken, at least as far as she knew, since she'd broken more than one in training. Nobody had been gentle with her, even as they'd pampered her because of her status. 

The other thing she noticed was Maya, who had dozed off nearby. She had probably fallen asleep sitting in the chair, but her head was now resting on Karone's bed, her arms curled around her head. Prior to Karone becoming herself again, she couldn't have imagined anyone doing that. 

But Maya was generous, in some ways too generous. Karone was used to people being generous because they had to be, and not generous when they didn't. Even Ecliptor, who had raised her as his own, had not been generous like the people around her now were. There had been a party thrown when she had become an adult, a huge bash with all the villains of the galaxy, but it had been essentially meaningless compared to her new team's warm welcome party. And Maya? They'd cuddled in each other's arms that night, as if they'd done it forever instead of Karone being there for less than a day. 

It hadn't been too long since Karone had become a Ranger, after all. Became someone who her former self had once despised, had once sneered upon. She had in no way made up for that past, and despite Maya's words, had barely become a better person. Her mission to retrieve Kendrix's Quasar Saber had been her way of trying to make up for things, not to become chosen to become a Ranger. That had seemed like an honor that her post-Astronema self had never hoped for.

She leaned forward to wake Maya up, and winced. Maybe they gave her painkiller, or maybe the pain from slamming into the wall wasn't as bad as she thought it was. She'd rarely had painkiller growing up, because she had to be tough, but it wouldn't surprise her that the doctors of Terra Venture felt differently about pain. 

"Maya. Maya." 

Her teammate looked up groggily, but that she seemed to wake up after a moment. Karone envied that; she had always been a heavy sleeper and only training seemed to truly wake her up in the mornings. 

"How are you feeling?" Maya asked. She fiddled a little with one of her necklaces. 

"It hurts a bit," Karone said. "Less than I thought it would. Did you defeat the monster?" 

There may have been a flash of pain in Maya's eyes. Karone didn't mean to say "you" as if she wasn't part of the team. She'd meant "you" as in the rest of the team after she'd collapsed. She probably should have said "we", but old habits died hard.

"We did," Maya confirmed. She reached out and took Karone's hand. "When we came back, the healers had come and taken you to be treated. They say that you're going to be okay, just sore. Kai says that they're just keeping you under observation."

Observation. She remembered how, more than once, Ecliptor had made sure she'd taken a day off to rest after one serious training fight or another. Maybe this was the same thing.

"And then we get to go home?" Karone asked. She remembered the word this time. She didn't want to cause Maya any more pain. Maya had done so much for her in such a short period of time when she should be mourning Kendrix. For all Karone knew, this was her way of coping, by helping Karone out.

She realized she just didn't know Maya that well, and maybe she should. 

"Yes." Her words seemed to make Maya smile. Which made Karone smile in return. She thought about a nice picnic, somewhere on Terra Venture where they could just talk, have some fun, get to know each other. Get to know about Kendrix, too, a little bit, get to know the woman who had believed in her just like Maya and the others did now. 

Find what she was meant to do and maybe someone who she was supposed to be with finally. That would be good. She gave Maya's hand a squeeze, a bright smile, and knew from the look in Maya's eyes that it was all that mattered.


End file.
